? on drake behavior

[veronicasmom]

Hope someone can answer this for me.
My drake always accepted a new hen before. When he was alone, I added the Pekin, he loved her. Then I added the Runner hen, he loved her. Last Saturday I got that little female one winged duck and he is still picking on her. Not too badly, but he chases her from the water bowls, or the food dish, as if to let his other girls eat first. He is just being a butthead to her, chasing her off frequently. He isn't attacking her, just grabbing the back of her head occasionally, and mostly chasing her.
Does anyone think it will get better with time? Will he eventually accept her as part of the flock? She's smaller than the other two girls, and I worry about her getting enough food. I try to make sure she can get to the bowl alone sometimes, but I have to go away for a couple of weekends and have caretakers looking in on them. Kind of hard to get them to figure out how to do it. That's not for another month, is there a chance that it will stop by then? I am worried about it. She seems fine, she follows them all around and hangs out in the pool a lot. She seems happy and comfortable, but I hate to see him be a bully. He didn't seem like that before with his two other girls that died. Then getting the two new ones we have now, he was wonderful, just a jerk with Vanessa.

 

[veronicasmom]

Anyone????

Will separating the drake for awhile help?

 

[kysilkies]

Is he just establishing the 'pekin' order? Pun intended, but serious question..

 

[FenDruadin]

Personally, I'd separate him for about a week, then put him back with the girls and see if it changes. I had a drake treat a hen that way and it got progressively worse until finally he drove her off and she disappeared altogether. I am still sad about that--she was my favorite hen, and if I had realized what was happening and known how bad it could get, I would have put a stop to it, but I didn't know.

If you separate the drake then he will come back as the "low man" and won't be as inclined to push the others around. He'll eventually work his way up, but by then he'll see the others as all members of the flock and will be less likely to single one out for bad treatment.

Drakes definitely can pick favorites--mine both have a favorite hen, but I won't tolerate them picking out one to bully. The favorite hen thing is funny to watch though--I watched my blue drake mount his favorite female on the pond yesterday despite her protests and trying to get away (okay, that part wasn't funny--she was protesting because she gets so much of his attention and I think she just gets tired). As soon as he was done, one of the less favored hens came up to him and began begging him to take care of her, too--that little "come on" head bob & quack. She followed him around giving him the come-on for a full two minutes before he finally agreed and gave her what she wanted. Which of course took less than twenty seconds, and then she floated off serenely, wagging her tail and looking quite smug. Very funny.

Anyway, I watch them regularly for signs of bullying and if I ever do see it, I plan to separate the drake immediately. If he doesn't improve after the separation, I'll replace him.

Good luck--

 

[veronicasmom]

Well, that's what I am trying to figure out, if this is just a period of establishing himself with the newcomer, or this is going to be a continuous problem.
I am dreading it if I have to separate him. It will be much harder on me than him. Should he be near enough to see them through the fence?
Replacing him is not an option. He's not a great quality drake, so no one will want him for breeding, and there is no way I'd let him be food for anyone or anything! I REALLY want to work this out. I have ducks to enjoy them and he is making me so mad when he picks on the little one.
It's been 8 days since the new one came here. He is not being overly nasty, but he just runs her off from the water and the food bowls. It's so annoying. He was so nice before. Grrr.
Thanks for the help. He's my first drake. I'd always had just females before. Wish I had stuck with that.

 

[FenDruadin]

I know it's a pain to separate, but it's only for a week and it will probably completely solve your problem. I would say that if you were going to be home all the time, you could just keep an eye on it. But with you being gone in a month for a while, I would go ahead and solve the problem now and then you won't have to worry while you're gone.

I don't think it matters whether he can see them or not--that's up to you, and what your set-up looks like. He doesn't have to have a ton of space since it's only for a week, so you can do something very makeshift, as long as predators can't get to him. You could even just partition their existing pen so that they can't actually reach each other. The confinement alone will bring him down a notch or two and give the girls time to bond before he rejoins them.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

 

[veronicasmom]

Okay, I guess I am resigned to the fact that separation will probably have to be the answer (BIG sigh....). I have had to do many animal things "for their own good", and I am always the one that suffers most!
I can set up a pretty nice area for him, he can have a pool and see his girls, but not get to them. Hubby will be thrilled to have to put up another yet another fence LOL.
Thanks for the advice. Vanessa and I appreciate it!!

 

[hooktontravel]

Hey, this is a really old thread... but did you separate the drake? and did he behave better afterward? I have a small flock (5 birds) and it's mixed (3 chickens, 2 ducks). I had just 1 duckling and she hatched with a chicken & they were bff's, but then a friend convinced me to take an extra drake she had. She picked the most submissive, quiet one. he was fine in with everyone for several months, but has begun attacking my rooster. The rooster used to be the boss of him, and would put up with 2 or 3 attacks, then turn around and jump & subdue him, then let him go. After a couple of weeks he seemed to quit returning the attention and now just runs. and the drake chases him. and won't let him under the house/out of the snow/etc with everyone else. He's fine with my females, but not the roo.

I'm wondering if I should separate him for a while and let the hen duck go with the chickens again, and then try putting them all together. They're all roughly 7-8 months old now. The pullets just started laying day after christmas (orpington - 7 months) and a few weeks later (brahma - 6.5ish months)...the duckling is not laying yet as far as I know.